A Couple of Questions

First, I'm thinking about getting an Axe Fx Ultra and wanted to know if i used it through my Peavey JSX 212 using this amp basically just as a power amp and cabinet would their be a drastic change or discrepancy if I went out and got a separate cabinet and power amp? Basically how much will the difference in speakers and power amp affect the tone?

There will definitely be a difference depending on the output and the type of tubes on the poweramp you get and the type of speakers you get. I don't have a good explanation and I'm really not good at describing how it would be different either.

Check out the clips in this thread though for an idea of how different tube types can effect the sound.

What I know about the Axe Fx Ultra is that its a do everything digital emulation system and the main reason I want it is to record with it DI. I should have phrased my question a bit better, but it was kind of hard to arrange all my thoughts into something coherent. When I play live with it, do you think I'd have a hard time getting close to the tone that it simulates during DI if I just run it through the clean channel and used the Axe Fx's amp simulations/distortions?

You would be better off running the Axe FX with a preamp setting and then going into the poweramp of the JSX live. It won't sound the same, but it will be similar enough to work in a live situation.

I'm not sure exactly how the Axe FX does it's amp simulation though. If it's emulating both a preamp and poweramp it wouldn't sound as good as if it was doing only a preamp into the JSX's poweramp (well I'm fairly sure it wouldn't?).

I'm not sure exactly how the Axe FX does it's amp simulation though. If it's emulating both a preamp and poweramp it wouldn't sound as good as if it was doing only a preamp into the JSX's poweramp (well I'm fairly sure it wouldn't?).

you need to find out what axeFX emulates. some of these emulators just do 'preamps' (meaning preamp distortion plus whatever tonestack is involved), while some emulators will go the extra distance and try to emulate a saturated power section as well, some even go further and attempt to emulate speakers, cabinets, and even mic'ing of the cabinet.

now if axeFX does the whole package, then a flat response system would be preferable (like a PA or monitors) so you can more acurately reproduce all the emulation. but if you have a choice of using what you want (ie, the choice not to use a cabinet emulator) then you need to decide what is best for your needs.

what i recommend is not to 'overlap' similar emulation ontop of 'the real stuff'. so, if you wanna use a real amp that has real tubes through a real cabinet with real guitar speakers, then i recommend not using a power amp emulator, cab emulator, or speaker emulator; as this tends to exagerate certain attributes of the signal too much.

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